Discovery
by scifislasher
Summary: -SPD- What do you do when you find your 2IC isn't as human as he seems? Mild AU, but works around canon. JackSky preslash.
1. Prologue

Discovery

Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be, not making any profit.

Author notes: This story is the first is a now completed series, which may or may not be posted here. I rated this story as 15 on my lj, for mild swearing and darkish situations, so you have been warned. :) It's pre-slash for Jack and Sky, which probably doesn't surprise anyone, it's AU and it has some supernatural elements as well, so if that bothers you, don't read it.

* * *

_Boring, boring and more boring. God, I hate patrols._ Jack scowled briefly as he walked along the pavement. Patrols were boring, nothing interesting ever happened and he usually couldn't wait to get to back to base. That impulse was particularly strong right now when you considered who he was patrolling with. Sky was not the most entertaining person to be around on boring patrols - unlike the others he refused to be distracted by idle conversation on the grounds that they might miss something important, so patrols with Sky were not high on his list of fun things to do. It wasn't that he didn't like Sky, it was just that the blue ranger needed to learn how to lighten up a little and then maybe he wouldn't quote the rulebook at the rest of them all the time.

He frowned slightly as he studied his friend's profile out the corner of his eye. Sky was tense, more so than usual and he wondered why. It wouldn't just be the fact that Sky was having to patrol with him, something he knew irritated his second in command almost as much as it did him, that was just your average Sky tenseness. This was different and Jack couldn't work out what would do that - for one thing he hadn't thought it possible for Sky to get more tense, but obviously he'd been wrong.

Just then he felt the skin on the back of his neck start to crawl and he tensed slightly himself, something that drew Sky's attention even if the blue ranger didn't actually comment. His senses on a heightened state of alert, Jack restudied his surroundings, taking everything in a second time, analysing it for anything out of the ordinary, anything that didn't belong.

Just as they walked past the entrance to the city park a quick blur of movement drew his attention and he caught a quick glimpse of a man - human, not alien, not a member of Gruumm's army - before the man melted into the darkness beneath the trees. It lasted only a moment and Jack wasn't even sure he'd really seen it. He stared at the trees for a moment then, when nothing else happened, he frowned slightly and continued his patrol.

The sense of being watched didn't leave, though. If anything it got stronger, more intent and focused. In the end he stopped abruptly and turned around, alert for anything, his entire stance a challenge to whoever it was. Nothing. He stayed like that for another moment or so, knowing there was something out there but frustratingly unable to pin it down. The watchfulness grew oppressive and for a moment it was a struggle to breathe in, the sense of malevolence was so strong. Whatever was out there hated him and he had no idea why.

He jumped when he felt the light touch on his shoulder and he automatically went to flip off whoever it was before his mind recognised Sky and he relaxed a little.

"What's wrong with you?" Sky asked, face impatient but with a faint underlying concern.

"Nothing," Jack said, unable to keep the uneasy tone out of his voice. "Just… you know sometimes you get the feeling like you're being watched or something?" Sky nodded. "Well, it's like that."

"Like someone's watching you?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah. And whoever it is doesn't like me very much."

Mercifully Sky didn't make any smart ass comments, or even give him that sceptical look. "We're almost done," was all he said. "Once we've finished this sector we can head back to base."

Jack nodded again. "Might be a good idea."

* * *

Even after they got back to base Jack couldn't shake the uneasy feeling and it was almost a relief when the alarms went off, signalling a Troobian attack in progress. At least now he had an outlet for his apprehension and he made the most of it, sending krybot after krybot to the floor and confining the criminal in a reasonably short amount of time. Okay, so it probably wouldn't have won any records for speed or co-ordination, but it was satisfying. Well, maybe not satisfying, but it did make him feel better, and by the time they made it back to the Delta Base a lot of his unease had gone. What was left of it he was able to shove to the back of his mind and not think about.

That state of grace only lasted until night fell. He'd been off duty for a few hours now and he knew he had no reason to be nervous inside the Delta Base - there was nothing and nobody here that would hurt him, nothing he had to be on guard against, but still his unease grew and he found himself falling back into old habits of watching anything and everything for the slightest hint of trouble. He caught Z giving him worried looks when she thought he wasn't looking, and he supposed he should have known Z would pick up on his mood and wary stance even if the others didn't. Z knew him inside out and she would be wondering what had prompted his return to their previous levels of wariness and skittishness. He made his excuses and called it an early night in an attempt to avoid her curiosity and the inevitable probing questions as she tried to figure out what was wrong. Maybe tomorrow would be a better day, he thought, as he tiredly pulled off his shirt and changed into his pyjamas. Tomorrow _had_ to be better than today.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Jack's eyes snapped open as the quiet sound finally permeated his brain, the faint scrabbling and the soft _shhh_ of something sliding in through his open window. That was the disadvantage of having a ground floor room, anything would be able to get in if it wanted to. He was out of bed in a moment, slamming on the light and falling into a defensive stance ready for anything. Or, almost anything.

He froze at the sight of the wolf lying on his floor and all his training went out the window as he automatically backed towards the nearest wall. _There was a wolf in his room, _his mind babbled_. There was a frickin' **wolf** in his **room**!_ His hand groped for his communicator, only to realise it was on his bedside table on the opposite side of the room. Right by the wolf. He swallowed and contemplated other ways of calling for help, because although he was afraid, he wasn't desperate enough to run screaming through the halls that there was a wolf in his room.

It was then that the realisation sank in that the wolf a) was kinda blonde, an unusual colour for wolves, from what little he knew anyway, and b) wasn't attacking. If anything it was too still and now Jack could hear the almost inaudible whimpers the wolf was making. His fear subsided a little and before he was able to assert conscious control over his actions, he was making his way over. "Hey, you okay?" he asked, mentally deriding himself for both the question (_of course it's not alright, what are you, nuts?) _and the fact that he was talking to a _wolf_. The whimpers grew slightly louder and Jack winced. "Okay, stupid question." That was when the blood-stained coat and continuous stream of blood grabbed hold of his attention and he bit his lip, unsure of what to do next. He was pretty sure that neither Kat nor Dr. Felix had any idea how to treat wolves, but right now they were the only people he could think of. He reached out, intending to see how bad the damage was when the jaws snapped right by his fingers and he stilled at the warning growl. "Look, I'm just trying to see how bad it is, alright?" He shook his head in frustration. "God, I'm talking to a wolf, what does that say about me?"

He was about to reach for his communicator, if Kat didn't know then maybe she'd know someone who would, when the wolf lying in front of him seemed to distort and the sight made him automatically close his eyes against the impossible shapes. When he opened his eyes again it was to find a naked man on his bedroom floor and his jaw dropped. _What the **hell**?!_ A moment later his mind caught up with the fact that it was _Sky_ lying on his floor and he felt his entire body turn to ice as he took in the blood coming from Sky's stomach. "Oh, shit!" He grabbed at his communicator while at the same time trying to apply as much pressure as possible on the wound, his mind rebelling at the sheer amount of blood coming out of his friend. "Kat, I need a medical team in my quarters, _now!_"

There was a pause that seemed to last forever, but it was probably only a couple of moments until Kat picked up the line. "Jack, what's the problem?"

"Sky. He's hurt. Really bad."

"I'm on my way." The line went dead and Jack sighed a little in relief. Kat would sort this out.

"Sky, what happened to you?" he said softly, not really expecting an answer. The only response he got was a quiet whimper of pain and despite himself Jack found himself threading his fingers through Sky's hair in an attempt to comfort his friend and maybe ease the pain. "Kat's on her way," he said, just as quietly as before. "You'll be fine, Sky. And then," he added, "you can tell me what the hell is going on."

Just then the door to his quarters opened and both Kat and Dr. Felix came in, the latter carrying an emergency first aid kit. Jack glanced out the door waiting for the rest of the med team and was dismayed when no-one else seemed to be coming in. "Where's the rest of the med team?" he demanded, unable to believe they'd come alone.

"We're it," Kat told him as Dr. Felix rapidly bandaged up Sky's side.

"What do you mean, you're it? What's going on?"

Kat didn't reply, simply moved so she was holding Sky's head, her fingers absently mimicking Jack's actions of coming through Sky's hair. "Sky, can you hear me?"

When the only answer was another whimper Kat shook her head. "We need to get him to the infirmary."

"Well, finally," Jack muttered and moved to help the doctors get Sky out of his room and onto the gurney they'd brought along with them, before Kat waved him off.

"We've got it, Jack."

Jack stood back, frustrated, angry and upset. All he wanted to do was help, was that so wrong? "Kat, what's going on?" he asked again. "One moment there's a wolf in my room, the next it's Sky bleeding out all over my floor. I--"

"Not now, Jack," Kat interrupted. "Go back to bed."

Jack stared at her. "Go back to bed? When one of my friends is hurt that badly? No way. I'm coming with you."

"Go back to bed, Jack," Kat repeated, her voice hard and Jack stepped back in surprise, holding up his hands in surrender. Even Commander Cruger backed off when Kat used that tone of voice.

"Okay, okay. 'Bed.'"

Kat nodded and then walked out of the room, leaving Jack staring at the closed door.

* * *

Jack woke up the next morning in a thoroughly bad mood, after one of the most restless nights he could remember and he scowled slightly as one of the more fantastical dreams prodded its way into the front of his brain. Sky as a werewolf?_ Whatever_. He swung his legs over the side of his bed and froze when his toes touched something damp. He looked down and swallowed hard against the surge of nausea when he saw the patch of not quite dried blood under his foot. Sky's blood. The events of the previous night came back full force and he launched himself out of bed, fumbling for his communicator and flipping it open, hands trembling slightly. "Sky?" _Let it have been a nightmare, please_, he thought. _Let it just have been a really bad dream and there's another explanation for blood on my floor, **please**._ Nothing. "Sky? Sky, come on, answer your damn communicator." Again, no response. "Sky, I swear, you don't answer your communicator I will so kick your ass, pick up!" Sky's pale face loomed large in his mind's eye and his hands clenched into fists all by themselves at the thought of all the blood Sky had been losing. _Was there even that much blood in the human body anyway? _Hot on the heels of that last thought was the somewhat disturbing one that maybe Sky wasn't as human as he seemed.

Tossing his communicator onto his bed, Jack took one of the fastest showers in history and roughly pulled on his uniform when he came out. He skipped the rec. room. Breakfast could wait, he decided. He needed to find out how Sky was. He walked into the infirmary and was somewhat nonplussed to find it empty. Sky wasn't there. He frowned. After an injury like that, Sky should definitely be in the infirmary, so where was he? He looked around some more in the vain hope that maybe he'd somehow overlooked the blue ranger, only to find the infirmary still frustratingly empty. Where was Sky?

He headed back to the rec. room but stopped off at Sky's room on the way. He knocked on the door cautiously. "Sky? You in there?" The silence was unnerving and Jack took a step forward, activating the door. He stuck his head in and found the room empty. Sky wasn't there. He stepped back and scowled to himself. Not in the infirmary, not in his room. Where else would Sky be with an injury like that? Still shaking his head, he made his way to the rec. room. Maybe breakfast wasn't such a bad idea. He headed straight for the food replicator and programmed in some toast, not really feeling up for anything else. He turned and found he was half expecting to see Sky sitting at one of the tables, nursing a cup of coffee like he usually was. He was more than a little crushed when that wasn't the case and the last vestige of hope that last night had been nothing more than a bad dream died like a candle blown out in the wind.

Sky's absence was noted by the others and was the cause of some concern, Sky usually being the first one up, but Jack feigned ignorance, pretty sure that this was something he should keep his mouth shut about, at least for now.

* * *

He finally caught up with Sky a couple of hours later when he spotted the blue ranger walking through the corridors towards the rec. room, the opposite direction to himself. He was stunned to find that Sky seemed perfectly fine, no indication that a few hours earlier he'd been dangerously close to bleeding out. If not for the blood on his floor and Sky's strange absence this morning he might actually believe the previous night had only been a dream.

He stopped in the middle of the corridor, leaving Sky no option but to stop. He flicked his eyes over his friend, his arms folded across his chest as he ran the quick visual check to make sure Sky was really okay. "You look better," he said, finally and Sky raised an eyebrow at him.

"Better?" he asked, innocently, expression one of confusion.

_Oh, no,_ Jack thought, _you are **not** acting like nothing happened last night. No way._

"Yeah, although after losing that much blood last night I'm surprised you're still on your feet." It was a shot in the dark, a desperate hope that Sky knew what he was talking about and didn't think he had completely lost it. Sky's expression flickered slightly, so fast Jack wasn't even sure he'd seen it, then the eyebrow climbed higher and Sky was giving him a somewhat dubious look, like he was now absolutely convinced that Jack needed mental help.

"I'm fine, Jack," was all he said though as he moved past Jack, their shoulders bumping as he did so. Jack waited until Sky had gone a few paces before he turned round. "The wolf thing was interesting," he said casually and he knew he'd hit paydirt when Sky froze mid-step. When Sky turned back there was a strange look in his eyes, even while his expression was the neutral one the blue ranger habitually wore, the mask that kept everyone out. Jack's stomach twisted painfully when he realised the look in Sky's eyes was pure terror, although there was something else there as well that Jack couldn't identify. "Want to tell me what's going on now?" he asked instead. "Because after the whole bleeding out on my floor thing, I think I deserve some answers." He could see Sky struggling with himself, the indecision flickering across his face as he chewed slightly on his bottom lip, and he knew the exact moment Sky decided to tell him, the look of defeated resignation settling uneasily on his usually sure features.

"Not here," was all Sky said though, as he turned and walked past Jack again, heading back along the corridor. Jack followed, wondering where they were going and what exactly he was about to find out.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Jack leant against the door that led out onto the roof, his arms crossed across his chest loosely, waiting. Sky was standing a few feet away, almost at the edge, probably trying to work out what to say. They stayed that way for a couple of minutes before Sky turned and looked back at Jack, expression guarded.

"What did you see last night?" he asked finally, body tense.

Jack tilted his head a little and frowned slightly. "I heard something coming into my room, so I got up to find out what it was. Turns out it was you, but I didn't know that at the time. First thing I saw was a wolf on the floor, not exactly what I was expecting, believe me." Sky snorted softly and Jack grinned a little before continuing. "One moment there's a wolf bleeding on my floor, the next it's _you_ bleeding on my floor, which freaked me out, by the way. You didn't look so good." Sky shrugged, but looked apologetic. "I called Kat, she and Doctor Felix turned up and took you away - to the infirmary, I thought, but when I went to check on you this morning, you weren't there."

"I was," Sky replied. "Just not in the main part."

Jack frowned. "There's another part of the infirmary?" Sky nodded. "How come I never heard about it?"

"No one knows. Well, except me, of course. Kat knows, Doctor Felix as well, oh and the Commander knows. And now you. Other than that, no one knows."

"So it's just for you?"

Sky nodded again. "It's a precaution against things like last night. If I need medical attention for reasons other than battle or training I go there, saves awkward questions."

Jack thought about that, then nodded himself. "I can see why. How'd you get hurt anyway?"

Sky shrugged, but it was clear that he wasn't as casual about it as he'd like. "Hunters."

"Hunters?" Jack prompted, when the silence lasted a little too long.

"People who go after people like me."

"People like you being what, werewolves or something?"

Sky rolled his eyes in exasperation. "If you like."

Jack stared. "Seriously? Werewolf?"

"It fits, I suppose. Can't really come up with anything else to describe what I am, can you?"

"Guess not. It just sounds really weird, that's all."

"Try being one," Sky responded dryly, moving away from the edge and closer to the door where Jack was standing.

Jack snorted derisively and Sky grinned a little, slowly relaxing now that Jack was apparently not about to freak out. "So," Jack continued. "Hunters, huh?" There was something nagging in the back of his mind, something important that he couldn't quite pin down, but Sky was nodding. "How many?" The question was important, he knew, if he just knew why…

Sky hesitated. "Three," he said eventually and Jack's head snapped up.

"Three?" he demanded, voice rising. Sky shrugged and Jack scowled at him, but now he knew what had been bothering him - Sky's tenseness during patrol the day before, although you'd have to know him to realise it was out of the ordinary tension, rather than just Sky being Sky. It was the sense of being watched while they were out there. Only… the malevolence hadn't been directed at him like he'd thought, but had been aimed rather at Sky. It was the guy slipping out of his vision so fast he wasn't even sure he'd seen him. "Yesterday," he said slowly, "when we were on patrol. That guy at the park, he was one of them, wasn't he?" Sky nodded. So, he hadn't imagined the man after all, that was a relief. Hang on, that meant… "So… you knew all of yesterday that someone was after you, but you didn't do anything?" Jack's voice was incredulous.

"A week," Sky corrected. "They've been here a week."

"A week," Jack stated flatly. "They were here for a week, and you knew they were there, but you didn't do anything?" His voice rose sharply as he digested the fact that Sky had known people were after him and had gone out anyway. "How _stupid_ was that?!"

Sky flushed, his cheeks turning pink. "I know, alright? But I needed to get out and I suppose I was overconfident."

"Ya think?" Jack replied. "Please tell me you at least told Cruger there were people after you."

"I'm not that stupid, Jack. Of course I told him."

"But you still went out anyway."

"I thought I'd be able to stay out of their way. Obviously I was wrong."

"Obviously." Jack sighed, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose, before running his hand over his face as he looked back at his 2IC, who was currently wearing a distinctly uncomfortable expression. "How bad was it?" he asked, when Sky apparently didn't take the hint to spill. "Like I said before, I'm surprised you're still on your feet."

"I've had worse."

"That doesn't tell me anything."

Sky sighed in his turn and unzipped his jacket before lifting the hem of his shirt. Jack winced, hissing slightly in sympathy as he took in the gash in Sky's side, now all neatly stitched up. "Damn, that had to hurt," he said. _And he's had **worse**?_ "They really got you good, huh?"

Sky smirked a little as he let go of his shirt and redid his jacket, hiding the injury once again. "I got them better."

Jack looked at him sharply and Sky held up in his hands in innocence. "I didn't kill anyone, in case you're wondering."

Jack relaxed slightly and pointedly ignored the sardonic smile Sky gave him. "What did you do, then?" he asked, not sure he really wanted an answer. He didn't really think Sky had killed anyone, he wasn't even sure if the other man was capable of it, but things happened when you were fighting for your life, which, having seen the gash in Sky's side, he had no doubt had been the case last night.

"One of them won't be using his right hand for a while," Sky said, ticking it off on his fingers. "Another will be limping for a couple of weeks, give or take a day or so, and the third probably won't be having kids any time soon." He raised an eyebrow at Jack's expression. "What?"

"Nothing," Jack replied, shrugging his shoulders, ignoring the unwelcome sense of relief mixed with unease sliding down his spine. "Is this why you don't like werewolf movies?" he asked, changing the subject abruptly. They had a movie night once a fortnight, if they got the chance, and the last one had been a few days ago - a werewolf movie Bridge had decided on. Sky had flat out refused to watch it, despite persistent urging from the rest of the team and the argument had ended with Sky stalking out of the rec. room with a face like thunder. His attitude had surprised them, because he'd given in to the idea of a movie night with a minimum amount of argument when Z had first brought it up a few months ago and he'd even seemed to enjoy most of the choices (with a few notable exceptions) but of the ones he _hadn__'t_ enjoyed, none of them had made him leave, he'd simply tolerated them, burying himself in a book instead and glancing over at the screen every now and then, satisfying himself with sarcastic comments that usually resulted in Z throwing popcorn at him. Until a few days ago.

Sky nodded, joining him at the door, leaning against it in an uncharacteristic display of relaxation, a pose that was no doubt put on for Jack's benefit. "They're moderately offensive, yes. Not to mention completely inaccurate. I don't become a raving monster, there's no ravishing of virgins and I don't eat people."

Jack grinned a little, then cringed when he remembered the way the others had been 'recapping' the movie the following morning, including re-enactments by Bridge and Z and he gave fervent thanks to whoever or whatever watched over former street rats turned red rangers that he hadn't joined in, especially in light of this revelation. He didn't even want to think about how Sky must have felt in the face of their 'humour.' He winced again. "Ouch," he mumbled under his breath.

"Mm hmm," Sky agreed and Jack glanced over in astonishment. He hadn't thought he'd been that loud.

Sky smirked at his bewildered expression. "I have good ears," he said lightly. "Never make the mistake of thinking I can't hear you."

Jack winced again and flushed as he remembered certain comments he'd made, either to himself or someone else, that he hadn't thought Sky would hear. They weren't things he hadn't said to Sky's face, but still… "Um, sorry?" he offered, a little sheepishly, only for Sky to wave it off.

"It's nothing I haven't heard before," Sky pointed out. "And it's not like you say one thing to my face and another behind my back."

"That's not the point," he muttered, before he backtracked a little, getting away from the uncomfortable topic. "That injury looks pretty bad," he said thoughtfully. "But it was way worse last night. I can't believe it healed up that fast."

Sky shrugged. "Goes with the territory, I guess. Since I Changed the first time I heal faster than I did before. Being a ranger helps as well," he added. "Accelerated healing goes with being a ranger and the two combined means that I heal pretty fast. If I wasn't a ranger I'd still be wearing bandages instead of just having stitches."

Jack nodded, then tilted his head. "'Changed the first time'?" he asked curiously. "How long have you-- You weren't always--?"

Sky shook his head. "Not always. I was bitten about four years ago, now."

"Four years," Jack murmured. "That's a long time ago."

Sky shrugged. "Not really, I guess."

"It doesn't bother you? The whole turning into a wolf thing?"

"Not anymore. It did at first." Sky paused then slid down the door so he was sitting down and Jack joined him, waiting for the blue ranger to continue. "Needless to say, I wasn't happy about my body changing so dramatically. One day I was human, the next… not quite so human." He smiled a little. "I completely freaked out. I mean, turning into a wolf? It was crazy. I had no idea who I was anymore, _what_ I was. It was hard to deal with, to come to terms with. I got used to it though, eventually anyway and now I can't even remember what it was like before I Changed, not really, it's as much a part of me as my shields are. I can't imagine _not_ being this way anymore."

"I take it it has it's benefits?" Jack asked nonchalantly and Sky grinned.

"Yeah it does. Not that I appreciated them to start with." Jack raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything, the question silent. Sky tilted his head, still smiling slightly. "Accelerated healing. Enhanced senses," he said, again ticking the points off on his fingers. "My hearing's better, not always an advantage, believe me, especially when you have no desire to hear frivolous conversations two corridors away. My sense of smell is better, again not always an advantage. I'm faster, stronger, I have greater stamina than before, get your mind out of the gutter, Jack," he continued over Jack's muffled choke at that last comment. "Is that all you think about?"

"No," Jack replied, in an as offended tone as he could muster. "Carry on."

Sky smirked before shrugging his shoulders. "That's about it, really. I can't think of anything else off the top of my head. The silver thing is true, by the way," he added and Jack frowned.

"It's bad for you? Are we talking bad but you can get over it, or bad like it can kill you?"

"Bad like it can kill me," Sky replied shortly. "Just touching it hurts like hell, and it leaves first degree burns."

Jack winced. "Ouch," he said again. "Okay, no silver around you, got it."

"It's not like you wear it anyway," Sky pointed out, but Jack waved the comment off.

"Not the point." He paused momentarily as a couple of concerns raised their heads. "Syd wears some though, doesn't she?" he said. "And Z wears a necklace."

"Gold. Not a problem. And Syd doesn't wear that much silver, not enough to do any real damage."

Jack nodded and let it go, deciding to change the subject to something a little less dangerous. "Is the wolf thing why you do all that extra training, because ours isn't enough?" He was genuinely curious as to whether Sky was a masochist who just liked to do all that extra training, or if it was really necessary, because no one could seriously _enjoy_ all that training and be completely sane.

Sky nodded. "It's not that our training isn't good," he said, letting Jack change the subject without comment. "It's just that it's not really a full workout, you know? It doesn't push me the way training should. I train a lot with the Commander for that, considering he's stronger than the rest of us, especially since he became Shadow Ranger."

Jack nodded slowly. "When you're up to it, I want a demonstration," he said. "I want to know what you can do. Actually," he added. "I think it's something I _need_ to know."

Sky studied him for a moment then nodded. "Okay. The stitches should come out the day after tomorrow at the latest, so any time after that should be fine."

Jack nodded again before starting to get to his feet. "I think I should talk to the Commander, let him know that I know." He paused, halfway to standing. "Do the others know?" he asked. "Bridge and Syd, I mean. I'm guessing you wouldn't have told Z." After the movie debacle he didn't _think_ they knew, but sometimes you could never tell.

Sky shook his head. "I never told anyone, not even Drew."

Jack sat back down. "That might not have been the best idea ever. What if something had happened and they couldn't help because they didn't know?"

Sky shrugged again. "Kat and the Commander knew, if anything had happened. By the time Bridge arrived at the Academy I'd got it under control. Syd arrived later, and while I was closer to them than I was to most people I'd just got into the habit of not saying anything." Sky sighed quietly. "I also didn't want to freak them out. Okay, we were all different anyway, with our genetic abilities and everything, but this is a little different. I didn't know how to tell them, so I just didn't. I tried a couple of times, but every time I did I just… I couldn't."

Jack leant his head back against the door, letting the words sink in. "Okay, I can see that. It's not like you can really just say 'Oh, by the way, I'm a werewolf', I imagine it wouldn't go down too well - if they didn't just think you were nuts or joking. But on the flipside, it's almost like saying you don't trust them, and I'm not saying you don't," he added hurriedly, "but if they find out, they probably won't be best pleased you didn't tell them. And that's not counting what would happen if Gruumm found out." Jack flinched at the thought of Gruumm finding out about this. He didn't want to think about what the Troobian Emperor would do with the information.

"We've taken that into account already," Sky said, apparently oblivious to his train of thought.

Jack shook off his unease. "You have? We who, by the way?"

"Me, the Commander and Kat. We talked about it not long after it became clear Gruumm wasn't going anywhere. I wasn't sure if I should come out, so to speak, if it would be better to go all out or still hold back."

"And you decided to hold back?" Jack asked dubiously. "No offence, but I can think of a couple of times when you being all superpowered or whatever would have been handy. Why hold back?"

"First of all, we've done alright without me going 'all superpowered', although there have been a few occasions when I've taken it up a level. Secondly, the longer Gruumm doesn't know about this, the longer we have the advantage if I ever do need to go all out."

Jack thought about that, then nodded slowly. "Okay, I can see that too. And it's a really good thing that neither Drew or Wootox knew about this, because we would probably have been screwed if they had."

"Mmm," Sky agreed. "Although Wootox probably would have worked it out sooner or later, given time. I figured out a lot about how his body worked the longer I was in it, and I imagine he was doing the same with mine, even if he hadn't quite figured it out completely."

Jack shuddered. "Don't go there, man, seriously. That is not a pleasant thought." He paused for a moment. "Okay, one last question, then I'm going to go see the Commander." He hesitated, then just went for it, the question that had been burning in the back of his mind since he'd realised that the night before hadn't simply been a bad dream. "Why me? Why did you come to my room last night?"

Sky shrugged his shoulders. "First open window I found, though I am glad it was yours. If it hadn't been, this would probably be all over the Academy by now." He sighed, but before Jack could say anything he continued, "I did go to my room first, but the window was shut for some reason and I know I left it open when I went out."

Jack froze, then winced. "That would be my fault," he said indistinctly, hoping the shit wasn't about to hit the fan. Everything had been going so well until now.

Sky stared at him, eyes narrowed slightly, tensing up again. "You closed my window?"

Jack nodded guiltily. "I was looking for you, don't actually remember why now, but I stuck my head in to see if you were in there. Your room was pretty cold and it was windy so I shut the window. I didn't poke around your room, I swear. I was just in and out."

Sky studied him for a moment, then seemed to decide Jack was telling the truth and Jack relaxed minutely. When Sky gave you _that_ look it was usually a good idea to start planning escape routes, the laser-like glare boring through you until you were sure Sky could literally see right through you, know everything about you, leaving you open and vulnerable. "Did you always have that glare or is it a post-wolf thing?" he asked flippantly as he stood up, pretty sure now that the danger was past and that a teasing comment like that wouldn't flip Sky out. Sky stood as well, eyebrow raised as he did so.

"One last 'one last question'?" the blue ranger asked, just as casually, and Jack grinned.

"I'm always going to have questions, Sky. Get used to it."

Sky rolled his eyes and pulled the door open. "Pre-wolf," he said finally. "It got more of an edge afterwards though, admittedly."

"I'll bet," Jack replied as he walked through the open door and headed down the stairs. "Just like your sarcasm got more of a bite?" He couldn't help it, he really couldn't.

Sky groaned at the pun and pulled the door shut behind him harder than was strictly necessary, ignoring the grin on Jack's face. "Don't try to be funny, Jack. It doesn't suit you."

"Hey!" Jack retorted. "I'm a funny guy, I'll have you know."

"Really? Would this be the kind of humour that appeals to five year olds, and not people with any sense of maturity or something that resembles humour by everyone else's standards?"

The conversation continued as they headed back towards the centre of the base, trading snark for snark until they spotted the Commander walking along a corridor. Jack gave Sky a quick glance and when the only response he got was a non-committal shrug he glared half-heartedly, then hurried after the retreating figure of their commanding officer.


	4. Chapter 3

Just another warning, although I'm pretty sure I've mentioned it before, there's some minor bad language in this chapter, so if that bothers you don't read it.

* * *

Chapter Three

Doggie Cruger walked into Kat's lab and waited for the scientist to notice him. She looked up almost immediately, eyebrows raised in query. "Is something wrong?" she asked and Doggie sighed.

"Maybe. Jack knows."

It was Kat's turn to sigh and she pulled her hands away from her computer. "So much for hoping he'd pass it off as a dream," she said ruefully. "Now what do we do?"

"Nothing," Doggie replied. "This might turn out to be a good thing. Jack won't tell anyone and it won't hurt Sky to have someone else around who knows, especially another member of his squad who's more likely to be on hand if something happens. Besides, Jack seems to be handling it very well."

Kat nodded. "Okay. I'll make sure he gets the rundown on Werewolf 101."

"He probably got it from Sky already, but it can't hurt to get it from you as well. I'll send him down later."

* * *

Jack walked into the library and realised he had no idea what he was looking for. His duty hours over, he'd taken the opportunity to try and find out more about werewolves, other than the things both Sky and Kat had already filled him in on. Kat had mentioned a few things Sky hadn't, either because Sky hadn't thought of it, or didn't think it was important, the latter option leaving Jack more than a little exasperated. If he was going to be part of this he needed to know everything, not just what Sky thought he should know.

He sighed as he stared round the room, his stomach sinking a little at the size of it, wondering how on Earth he was going to find what he was looking for. He didn't think he'd find much, well, anything that would be relevant anyway, but he needed to feel he was doing something, maybe prove to himself that he could handle this without freaking out over the fact that his friend and 2IC was a werewolf. Finally one of the librarians took pity on him, after a couple more minutes of helpless staring, and he got directions to both the urban legends section and the horror fiction section - if he was going to find anything out he decided that those would probably be his best bet.

* * *

Unaware of the time, Jack leant back in his chair and frowned at the computer in front of him, ignoring for the moment the books piled next to him. There had to be more, he thought, something other than the obvious made up 'facts' about werewolves that Sky had already said were wrong. There had to be.

"Do you have any idea how inaccurate that stuff is?"

Jack all but jumped out of his chair at the sudden voice behind him and he scowled slightly when he found Sky smirking at him. "Don't do that!" he snapped, his heart rate coming back down to normal. He was a little surprised to find that Sky was out of uniform, wearing a pair of khaki slacks and white top with a blue shirt over it. "Didn't anyone ever tell you it's rude to sneak up on people?"

Sky shrugged. "I wasn't sneaking. You just didn't hear me."

Jack just glared at him some more. He had so been sneaking. Sky raised an eyebrow at him in amusement, almost as if he could hear what Jack was thinking.

"Body language," Sky said as Jack opened his mouth. "You're an open book, Jack."

Jack shut his mouth again. That was going to get old really fast, he knew. "How did you know I was here?" he asked, changing the topic somewhat.

Sky shrugged again, moving to lean against a nearby table, hands shoved into his trouser pockets. "Z said you'd gone out, so I tracked you." He smirked as Jack opened his mouth to ask the question and pre-empted him. "Smell, Jack. I could smell you."

"Oh, okay," Jack said vaguely before his mind caught up. "Wait. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

Sky grinned at him and the mischief evident in his amusement was a little unnerving, considering how reserved the blue ranger usually was. All things considered, Jack was beginning to wonder exactly how much of the Sky everyone saw was real and how much of it was a construct to keep people at arms length. "You don't smell bad, if that's what you're asking." Jack sighed quietly with relief, despite himself. "I just meant I know what you smell like, so I could follow you," Sky continued and again Jack felt himself nodding before his conscious mind caught up. Sky sighed as he opened his mouth to comment and pre-empted him again, breaking down everything Jack used in his personal hygiene routine, from his shower gel to his toothpaste.

Jack stared at him in disbelief as Sky rattled it off. "Okay, that's freaky. Don't do that," he said and Sky smirked at him some more.

"Sorry," he said, not really sounding sorry at all. Jack shook his head as he consciously realised that Sky really wasn't the person he thought he was. It was going to take some time to get his head round that fact and he wondered how much of himself Sky had hidden behind the mask of 'Cadet Tate'. At first he'd thought it was just limited to not letting on about his enhanced senses and stuff, but he was beginning to realise that that wasn't the case. There was a whole different side of Sky behind the mask of Cadet Tate, and Jack was bizarrely pleased that he was possibly the only person, besides Kat of course, that really knew Sky, or at least had the potential to really know him. This Sky seemed a lot more relaxed and at ease with himself, almost as if it was a relief that he didn't have to hide this part of himself anymore, not around Jack, and Jack found he was absurdly proud of the fact that Sky trusted him to handle this when he hadn't even told Bridge and Syd anything. Okay, so Sky hadn't actually _told_ him, but he didn't seem to regret Jack finding out, which was essentially the same thing.

* * *

Later that evening Jack was sitting in the rec. room, flicking through a comic and debating whether or not he felt like going to bed. His mind was still turning everything over and he needed a distraction. The past twenty-four hours had been mind-boggling to say the least and he hadn't quite got everything sorted out yet. He jumped, startled, when the shadow crossed his vision and he looked up to find Sky regarding him with an amused expression. "Don't do that!" he hissed. "I swear you like sneaking up on me."

"It's my fault you're not paying attention?" Sky asked, his amusement never wavering.

Jack just pulled a face at him and Sky grinned back. "Was there something you wanted?" he asked, a little snidely truth be told. "You know other than to scare me half to death?"

Sky smirked back at him. "Actually, yes. Not that making you jump isn't fun," he added, "but yeah, there was something." He paused, now a little unsure. "I was wondering if you'd like to go for a run or something."

Jack opened his mouth to say no. After all, it was evening and it had been a long day, not to mention the lack of sleep from the night before. His mouth seemed to have a mind of its own though, as what actually came out was "Yeah, okay. Anywhere in particular?" He absently noted that Sky's answering smile was relieved and he would later realise that Sky had expected him to say no to this tentative attempt at reaching out, but at the time he was too busy mentally smacking himself round the head for agreeing to what really added up to more training.

"The beach." Sky paused again and his voice dropped slightly. "You might want to use the window," he continued. "We'll probably be a while."

Jack blinked, then the realisation that it was still full moon dawned and he nodded. "Okay."

It was ironic, he thought a few minutes later, dropping out of his window and landing in an easy crouch, that it was Sky, of all people, getting him to essentially play hooky. Not that they had a curfew or anything, but there was lights out when they were technically supposed to be in bed. He had the feeling they were going to miss lights out tonight, although Sky probably missed it three days a month at least. He jumped when one of the shadows in the darkness moved and he cursed himself for it. He was going to have to get over this. He couldn't have Sky constantly making him jump, even if the blue ranger seemed to get an annoying kind of kick out of doing so.

* * *

Jack was breathing heavily and he was just about to stop when Sky glanced across at him. "Tired already?" he asked lightly and Jack scowled. Bastard hadn't even broken a sweat yet, he noted sourly. Wasn't even breathing hard either.

"No," he said shortly, unable to get out anything longer.

"Sure?" Sky asked, turning so he was running backwards. "'cause I can do this for hours."

"Anything you can do, Sky," he replied. "Keep going."

"Okay." Sky's voice was amused. "You want to take a break first?"

"No," Jack growled and Sky just laughed, righting himself and putting on a burst of speed, pulling away from Jack with ease. Muttering under his breath Jack put a spurt on himself, but gave up after another ten minutes. There was no way he was carrying on. Nothing was worth this torture. He made his way back to Sky's bike, warming himself down and grabbed one of the bottles of water, downing half of it in one go and pouring the rest over his head, before he sank to the floor, resting his head against the bike. He was never going running with Sky again. Ever. Period. It made him wonder how much Sky was holding back in training, because he bitched and complained with the rest of them about the toughness of the simulators and the obstacle courses, and he always seemed just as wiped as they were, but if tonight was anything to go by they'd probably be a cakewalk for him. Or at least, only mildly strenuous at best.

It was twenty minutes later when Sky reappeared, hair spiky and shirt damp with sweat. Jack opened the side compartment on Sky's bike and pulled out another bottle of water, tossing it over to Sky, who caught it easily, even in the dark. Sky took a quick swig then sat down next to Jack who raised an eyebrow at him. "Sure you went far enough?" he asked. "I'd hate to think you cut your run short on my account." Okay, so maybe he sounded a little resentful, but he didn't like being made a fool of and right now, whether it was intentional or not, that was exactly how he was feeling. He didn't need to look at Sky to know his friend was giving him that Look, the one that always made him feel as if Sky were looking right through him. Then again, maybe he was. _"Body language. You're an open book, Jack."_

Apparently Sky decided not to beat around the bush and went straight for the throat, metaphorically speaking. "Okay. What's up with you?"

"Nothing."

"Bullshit. I can tell when you're lying."

Jack glared forward into the darkness. Damn heightened senses. "How much do you hold back?" he demanded, his mouth again having a mind of its own. "In training you always seem as tired as the rest of us by the end, but you're not are you? You're not tired at all."

There was a quiet sigh in the darkness. "Depends on the training." There was silence and Jack thought that that was all be was going to get before Sky continued. "This doesn't make me unbeatable, you know. Yes, sometimes I hold back," Jack snorted quietly, "Okay, I hold back a lot of the time, but that doesn't mean I don't still get tired or anything. And I don't hold back _all_ the time."

"No, just most of it."

"Oh, I get it. This is about you, isn't it?"

"Excuse me?" Jack demanded. "This is so not about me, this is about you holding back, and how that affects the rest of the team."

"The hell it is!" Sky snapped back. "This is all about you. You and your bruised pride. It is, isn't it? You hate the idea that maybe I was letting you win in training and sparring matches. That's what you're thinking isn't it?" Before Jack could reply, Sky was standing, dropping the bottle onto the jacket he'd been sitting on. "This was a bad idea."

"Yeah, maybe it was," Jack retorted, also getting to his feet, reflexively preparing himself for the inevitable confrontation. "Maybe you should have brought Syd. Or Bridge. You know, your _friends?_ The ones you've been lying to for the past two and a half years? Maybe you should have brought one of them instead." Sky whirled round and Jack was suddenly very aware of the crackling air and he decided that maybe pissing off a werewolf wasn't the best idea he'd ever had. "And don't give me that about how you haven't been 'lying'," he continued, apparently unable to switch off his inbuilt self-destruct mechanism. "How you 'just haven't told them anything', because that is bullshit. It's lying by omission."

"Don't you dare judge me," Sky snarled. "You don't know anything about this!"

"Right, fine, I don't know anything. You're probably right about that, but that doesn't mean you can just use that 'I'm so misunderstood' attitude to blow people off. Other people have crappy lives, Sky, and growing fur and fangs once a month isn't as bad some of the things that are out there!"

There was silence then, and it was unnerving, leaving Jack wishing Sky would just yell back at him, anything other than this silence. He looked over at Sky and was stunned to find his shoulders shaking. Sky was _crying?_ he thought incredulously. There was no _way_ that Sky was that emotional. "Sky?" he asked cautiously, nonetheless. "You okay?" He reached out a hesitant hand but froze at the muffled snort. "Sky?" he repeated and he was left feeling incredibly confused and more than a little pissed off when he realised that Sky was laughing, not crying. "What's so funny?" he demanded, arms folded.

"Sorry," Sky gasped out between laughs. "I'm not laughing at you."

"Really?" Jack asked sarcastically. "What exactly _are_ you laughing at then?"

He frowned as he noted Sky bent over almost double as he calmed down, bracing his hands against his legs. "Nothing really," he said, laughter still evident in his voice. "Just that we never seem to have a conversation that doesn't degenerate pretty quickly."

"We do," Jack protested, although now he could feel the smile tugging at his lips. "Until now we haven't argued once today."

"'Until now,'" Sky repeated pointedly, straightening up again. "And I didn't cut my run short because of you, Jack, although I do usually go further."

Jack blinked at the sudden return to their previous conversation. "Why did you, then?" he asked, curious. If not because of him, then why?

"Injury, remember?" Sky replied, and Jack didn't need to see him to know he was rolling his eyes, the tone of voice said it all. He winced, remembering both the events of the previous night and seeing the reality of it in the stitches Sky was still wearing, and felt like smacking himself for not thinking of that sooner. He really had let his pride get in the way, hadn't he?

"Right," he said. "Sorry. I'd forgotten about that." Then the next logical thought occurred to him. "Should you even be running with that?"

He saw the faint outline of Sky shrugging. "As long as I don't rip out the stitches."

"Oh. Okay." There was a quiet pause, only this time the silence wasn't quite as dangerous. "So, that it for the night or what?"

"Not quite," Sky replied, and now the amusement was back. "I need to Change."

"Change what?" Jack asked before the answer hit him and he hurriedly added, "Never mind. Stupid question."

"Turn around, Jack," Sky said and Jack blinked as he took in the fact that Sky was pulling his shirt off.

"What? Why? It's not like I'm really going to see anything in the dark."

"Just do it, Jack. Humour me."

Jack studied his friend for a moment as Sky's hands moved, folding his shirt, then turned his back. A couple of minutes later he felt a wet nudge in the back of his right knee and he yelped, spinning round. It took a moment before he noticed the blonde wolf from the previous night standing right in front of him, and it might just have been his imagination or a trick of the light, but the wolf looked very…smug. "Don't do that," he snapped, uncomfortably aware that he'd spent far too much time today saying that. The wolf, Sky, nuzzled his hand in what was probably an apology and Jack shifted uncomfortably. "Alright, apology accepted. Now what?"

Sky nudged him in the knee and ran a few paces along the sand, then turned and looked back at him expectantly.

"More running?" Jack asked incredulously. "You wore me out once and now you want to do it again?"

There was a faint whine and Jack sighed. "Fine. Alright. I'll run with you."

That wasn't what Sky had in mind though, keeping just ahead of Jack, almost dancing out of his way at times, and that was when Jack caught on. The chase turned into a game of tag, with Sky catching Jack far more often than the other way round. Despite everything, Jack found he was actually enjoying himself and the inherent weirdness of playing tag with his second in command, who was quite possibly the most uptight person he'd ever met, who also happened to be a werewolf and currently in the shape of a wolf, vanished without a trace. The game finally ended with Sky launching himself at Jack and pinning him down, paws on Jack's shoulders as Jack half-heartedly tried to push him off. "Okay, okay, you win," he laughed. "I get it."

Sky grinned and suddenly swiped his tongue over Jack's face, leaving Jack spluttering indignantly while Sky let go and sauntered off back to the bike. Rubbing his face dry with his shirt, Jack picked himself up and followed, shaking the sand out of his braids and muttering softly to himself about people who weren't who they pretended to be. By the time he made it back to the bike Sky was just pulling his shirt back on and he grinned over at Jack, who was a little surprised to find he could actually make out Sky's features now. He looked up at the sky and was taken aback when he realised it was getting lighter. _They'd been out all night?_

"How badly is Cruger going to freak if he finds out we were out all night?" he asked and Sky shrugged.

"What he doesn't know." The sentence hung in the air.

Jack stared at him in disbelief. "You are not the person you pretend to be, Sky. Not at all."

Sky grinned unrepentantly. "The Commander won't say anything about you coming out with me, so he won't comment if you're a little tired later, but he probably wouldn't be too happy finding out we were out so long." His grin took on a slightly sheepish edge. "I don't usually stay out this late."

"No kidding," Jack replied, "especially considering you're usually the first one up."

Sky just shrugged and pulled on his jacket. "Come on," he said, "We'd better get back."

Twenty minutes later they were back at base and heading for their respective windows. They reached Jack's first and Jack started to pull himself up before he dropped back to the floor. "Sky?"

The blue ranger turned back, head tilted in question. "Yeah?"

"If you need it, my window's open, 'kay?"

A flash of surprise crossed Sky's face, but he nodded anyway, faint smile on his face. "Okay. Thanks."

"You're welcome," Jack replied and they stood there for a moment just looking at each other. "Anyway, I should--"

"I'd better--"

They stopped, realising they were talking over each other, and silence fell again.

"I'll see you in the morning," Jack said eventually and Sky nodded.

"Yeah, see you in the morning. Well, later in the morning anyway."

Jack grinned and Sky turned, heading for his own room. After he disappeared round the corner Jack climbed in through his window and collapsed onto his bed. He just about managed to kick his trainers off before sleep claimed him.


	5. Chapter 4

Okay, the timeline gets a little funky in this chapter. Just assume a longer period of time between the events of 'Recognition' and 'Dismissed' than we saw on screen.

* * *

Chapter Four

Jack yawned around his orange juice and rubbed his eyes again to try and wake himself up a bit. It was a good thing he wasn't known for being a morning person, otherwise he'd be facing the inquisition for sure. As it was, Z was simply giving him a few concerned looks, but hadn't commented so far, for which Jack was grateful. He didn't want to have to come up with some reason for why he was tired when he'd ostensibly had early nights the past two nights running. Fortunately for his peace of mind, Sky seemed just as tired, and if anything that relaxed him on the whole wolf issue. Sky _could_ still get tired - being a werewolf didn't make him any less human. The inbuilt contradiction to that thought made him snort softly into his drink. With the things he knew and the things he lived with every day he could probably keep a psychiatrist in work for a year or two, and that was with just him. He could almost hear the conversation now: _"I can walk through walls; my boss is a big, blue, talking dog; my best friend can replicate herself and another of my closest friends is a werewolf. That's not to mention the fact that I save the world on a daily basis from an Emperor who looks like a reject from a bad horror B movie."_

He forced himself to sober up when he found himself on the verge of giggling at the absurd things flying round his mind - the lack of sleep was definitely getting to him, he thought and he moved back to the replicator, this time programming in some coffee, the caffeine better for getting him out of the inanity his mind had fallen into than the orange juice he was currently not-drinking. He was getting soft, he decided. Back in the days before he and Z had 'joined' SPD, he wouldn't have thought twice about two days of little sleep and it definitely wouldn't be affecting him like this, he couldn't afford to let it. He shrugged off the thought, too tired to really concentrate on all the ways his life had changed since he'd accepted the red morpher, and they were too many to count anyways. He just had to get through today in one piece and then hopefully he could get lots and lots of sleep.

* * *

The next couple of days passed relatively quietly, the only spots of activity being random krybot attacks that didn't really make much sense other than Gruumm being a right pain in the ass and trying to keep them on edge. Just finishing up his hours in the Command Centre, Jack was more than ready for something interesting to happen, his nerves a little twitchy from the unusual quiet.

"Ready for that demonstration?" Sky asked casually, his stint in the Command Centre over as well, and Jack looked across at him from the console he was currently at.

"Sure. You? Those stitches haven't been out long."

Sky smiled slightly. "I'm fine."

"That's what you always say," Jack reminded him but Sky just raised an eyebrow at him. "Okay, if you're sure. Training room 3?"

Sky shrugged. "Why not?"

* * *

Jack blocked the punch aimed at his head and ducked, swiping Sky's feet out from under him. It was more of a workout than usual, though not by much, and Jack was having dark thoughts about what exactly was happening here. "I thought we agreed you weren't going to hold back in here," he said, folding his arms and giving his 2IC a stern look as Sky rose fluidly to his feet. Sky's eyebrow rose again, and Jack wished for the thousandth time that he had some way of keeping that damn eyebrow in place, because it got on his nerves the way Sky kept throwing that look at him.

"Okay," was the only response he got though, and he barely had time to get into a defensive stance before he hit the floor, simultaneously wondering where the hell that had come from and struggling to pull air into his lungs.

The next moment Sky was there, slowly applying pressure to his sternum and relaxing the muscles, allowing him to breathe again. "You alright?" Sky asked, face concerned behind his usual neutral mask.

"Stupid… question," Jack gasped as he raggedly pulled the air in, blaming his breathless state entirely on having the wind knocked out of him and having absolutely nothing at all to do with Sky. Nothing whatsoever.

Sky sat back on his heels, hands resting lightly on his thighs. "You're the one who told me not to hold back," he pointed out, voice carefully even.

"I didn't mean… for you to… knock the wind out of me," Jack countered, his breath coming back more easily now and he gingerly sat up, firmly not missing the warmth of Sky's hand on his stomach. The eyebrow climbed higher. "Will you stop that?" he demanded and now Sky looked confused.

"Stop what?"

"The eyebrow thing. It drives me nuts." The eyebrow started to rise again before Sky scowled, drawing both eyebrows into a glare.

"I thought we were here to spar, not comment on each other's personal habits." Sky stood and crossed back to the other side of the training room. "Unless you'd rather give up."

Jack scowled himself. "I didn't say I was giving up," he shot back as he climbed to his feet himself. "Are we sparring or not?"

The following minutes had him seriously regretting his decision for a no holds barred sparring match as he barely managed to prevent Sky from getting through his guard. Sky clearly hadn't been kidding when he said he was stronger and faster. About to call it quits, having gained a very thorough understanding of just what Sky was capable of, Jack saw it, making his move instantly. Sky had slightly overextended and would therefore be just that little bit off balance when Jack connected. He had one moment to take in the brief flash of surprise in Sky's eyes before the blue ranger went down, with Jack pinning him to the floor, feeling more pleased about it than he probably should.

"Happy now?" Sky asked dryly as he flexed his wrists slightly in Jack's grip, testing it almost, though he made no move to dislodge the man currently sitting on top of him, despite the fact he probably could do it with relative ease if he chose to.

"Absolutely," Jack replied, also making no attempt to move.

"You going to sit there all day?" Sky asked a moment later when Jack was still sitting there, showing no inclination to move. The eyebrow was raised again and Jack scowled at it slightly, very tempted to just push it back down and be done with it. He resisted the temptation and stood up, shaking his dreadlocks out of his face in irritation, although irritation at what exactly, he wasn't sure. Sky also stood, and Jack was pleased to note that Sky was definitely looking tired, there was no way he could be faking it right now, not after that work out. It gave him a smug sense of satisfaction that he could still take Sky on and win, even if it had been a lot harder than normal with Sky going all out. Sky narrowed his eyes at the no doubt self-satisfied expression on his face, but for once seemed to decide that discretion was the better part of valour and didn't comment.

Back in his quarters, Jack indulged himself in a long shower, the hot water soothing his tired, aching muscles and he knew he was paying the price for that sparring match. He smiled though, tilting his head back so the water ran over his face. It had so been worth it.

* * *

The sparring matches continued, once or twice a week, and over the weeks and months that followed, Jack slowly but surely discovered an increase in both his endurance and the speed of his reflexes. The others had commented on it, and he simply replied that he'd been putting in the training, much to their scepticism. It wasn't until he realised his sword lessons with Commander Cruger no longer left him feeling as tired as they used to that he truly recognised the result of his training with Sky.

"Your training with Sky is going well, I see," the Commander remarked casually as he powered down and Jack looked at him in surprise. He hadn't thought Cruger was aware of his sparring sessions with Sky.

"Uh, yeah, I guess they are."

"Keep it up. It will only make you stronger, and we need every advantage we can get against Gruumm."

"Why not have Sky come clean, then?" Jack said. "I know his reasons why he hasn't so far, but if we need every advantage, then he's a major one."

The Commander sighed. "That is Sky's decision to make, I can't force him to do it. Besides, some of his reasons are good ones, tactically speaking."

"Yeah, yeah, the whole secret weapon thing, I know."

"But you're not convinced?"

"Keeping Gruumm in the dark about it unless we need it? Yeah, I can see why it's a good tactical decision. But we keep thinking like that, we'll never use it, always putting it off for the next crisis, or the one after that, or the one after that." Jack stopped and sighed quietly himself. "I know Sky would be happier if he could keep this quiet forever, but that's not going to happen. Sooner or later, someone's going to find out and then we'll be in trouble. At least if Sky volunteers the information, it'll be on his terms, and that would be better for everyone."

Cruger nodded. "Agreed. But this is Sky's life we're talking about. We can't make such decisions for him."

"I know."

There was a moment of silence as the two of them walked out of the training room and back into the main sections of the base. As the Commander headed for the control room, Jack set his sights on his shower and was halfway to the escalator when he was called back. "Jack, don't forget, you have a big day tomorrow. Try to be on your best behaviour."

Jack flushed a little in chagrin, grinning sheepishly. Supreme Commander Birdie was arriving on an official visit, and he knew that his usual attitude wouldn't be acceptable. Cruger was used to his occasionally erratic/reckless behaviour, and tolerated it. Jack even suspected sometimes that Cruger found his attitude amusing, when it wasn't driving him up the wall. Supreme Commander Birdie, on the other hand, would have no tolerance for it at all, so he'd have to pull a Sky and be all disciplined and stuff. He pulled off a quick salute. "Yes, sir," he replied and he could have sworn he saw the big dog's mouth twitch in a barely there smile before Cruger entered the elevator that would take him to Command. Shaking his head, faint smile still on his face, Jack jumped lightly onto the escalator, more than ready for a date with his shower.

* * *

"Dress uniforms?" Jack demanded, his voice rising an octave or two and Sky nodded in mock commiseration.

"Dress uniforms," the blue ranger repeated, fighting back his smirk at Jack's dismay. The red ranger had been in the rec. room when the reality of the following day had finally sunk in, and he'd started venting over the idiocy of SPD's Supreme Commander paying them a visit when Gruumm was such a threat, that they didn't have time to play babysitter for some bureaucrat who was probably trying to convince himself he had balls for travelling to what was essentially a war zone, not to mention that the visit meant he had to get up even earlier than usual, and for someone who was anything but a morning person that was a fate worse than death. This unwelcome revelation was just adding insult to injury, piling misery on top of misery for the glowering squad leader. "They'll be in your wardrobe. Or they should be, anyway."

Jack scowled at the lack of sympathy he was getting. He'd expected Sky to back him up on this, but it seemed his second in command was in one of his contrary moods, disagreeing with him just for the hell of it. " Great, just great. Not only do I have to get up at some godawful time of the morning for this thing, but now I get to look like an idiot as well. Tomorrow's going to be wonderful."

"It won't be that bad. Birdie's only here for a few hours, tops, then he'll be gone, back to Headquarters and we won't have to deal with him again."

"Oh, like you're looking forward to this. Something will go wrong, you just wait. It'll be just my luck."

Sky raised an eyebrow at him. "You're pessimistic today. That's usually my job."

"Multi-tasking," Jack deadpanned. "You don't get to be the negative one all the time."

The eyebrow rose a little more. "Just don't expect me to be the optimistic one. I don't do that kind of role-switching."

It was Jack's turn to raise an eyebrow. "What kind of role-switching do you do, then?" he asked, jumping on the statement and to his amusement Sky's cheeks turned pink.

"Never mind," his 2IC said, hurriedly.

"No, no, no," Jack said, grinning wickedly, finger flicking out in Sky's direction. "You can't just say something like that and refuse to go into details."

"Details of what?" Syd asked as she and Z walked into the rec. room, expression curious. Z also looked interested, head cocked to the side inquisitively.

"Role-switching," he replied, smile slightly evil and both girls looked at Sky with interest, causing him to blush harder.

"It's not like it sounds."

"Of course not," Z said, smirking slightly.

"It's not."

"We believe you. Don't we, Syd?"

"Absolutely."

"Jack?"

"Oh definitely. Can't see Sky going for role-playing, really. Although I'm sure he could carry off a cute little nurse's uniform…"

Sky glared at him, his cheeks burning, which simply made Jack grin even more. "Fine," Sky snapped, rising to his feet with as much dignity as he could still manage. "Bitch about tomorrow at someone else."

As he stalked out of the room, no doubt heading for the relative safety of his room, Jack couldn't help his gaze wandering down Sky's tall figure as the other man walked out the door, every line of him fairly bristling with irritation and wounded pride. Distracted as he was, he didn't notice Syd and Z exchanging amused glances over his head, although when he returned his attention to them, their amusement vanished like magic as they demanded to be filled in on the conversation they'd interrupted.


	6. Chapter 5

Okay people. last chapter is up. I know there's a few loose ends hanging around but that's because they're tied up in later stories. On that subject, if you want to see said stories you gotta let me know. Otherwise, enjoy this final chapter. :)

Contains spoilers for 'Dismissed'.

* * *

Chapter Five

When he woke up the next morning, Jack groaned when he realised what day it was - Supreme Commander Official Visit Day. This was going to be a nightmare. Feeling barely more awake after his shower, Jack was about to pull on his uniform when he remembered the dress uniforms, and that wearing it was compulsory. He pulled it out the drawer and quickly brushed the creases out of it, or tried to anyway, the Commander would not be pleased if his red ranger let the side down because of a wrinkled uniform. Satisfied that the creases were out, he hurriedly got dressed, then scowled at his reflection, yanking on the collar so it wasn't strangling him. He looked like an idiot. The less time he had to wear this thing the better.

* * *

It didn't take long for Jack to decide he didn't like Supreme Commander Birdie. It was probably somewhere between the overgrown pigeon asking where Cruger's top squad was and the condescending tone of voice the bird used when remarking on how proud the Commander must be of them. Feeling his cheeks burning with resentment he bit his lip hard to keep quiet. He couldn't wait for this visit to be over.

* * *

After a tense day of condescending and dismissive comments, it was with a scary amount of relief that Jack assembled his squad for the formal farewell to Supreme Commander Birdie. The bird couldn't get off the base fast enough for his sanity. He really didn't appreciate being confused with Sky, either. It wasn't as if they even looked anything alike, after all, and that wasn't including the fact that they were pretty diametrically opposed personality wise as well as looks wise. Nonetheless, he smiled slightly as Commander Cruger made his statement about how proud he'd been to serve with all of them, it was a wonderful confidence boost, not just for him, but for the rest of his squad as well, despite their continued differences. However, the pride he took in that assertion was ripped to shreds when Cruger continued with the announcement that he'd been relieved of command.

The realisation that Birdie was replacing Cruger as Commander of SPD Earth made his heart drop into his boots like a stone and, dismayed, he instinctively turned his head to see how his second in command was taking this. It was with a faint twinge of relief that he realised Sky was looking back at him, just as disturbed by this as he was, if the expression on his face was anything to go by. Glancing back at his new Commander, although why the big bird wanted to command SPD Earth when he was the _Supreme_ Commander Jack had no idea, he was further disturbed by the look on the bird's face - smug, self-satisfied and slightly evil-looking.

* * *

The rapid changes in policy over the next few days left Jack fuming with anger and disgust when he found out about them: silent alerts; splitting up the team; sending them on separate missions; second guessing their strategies… Birdie hadn't wasted any time trying to rearrange the base to his way of thinking, and his doing so was going to get them all killed, and when that happened, Earth would fall. Gruumm would be the undisputed Emperor of the galaxy and Jack couldn't see any way that the galaxy would survive that fate, at least not any time in the near future.

Still seething inwardly while he went looking for Cruger to deliver Gruumm's message, he almost didn't pick up the faint prickle on the back of his neck as he walked through the streets of New Tech City. His head came up abruptly when he finally noticed it and he stopped, bending down on the pretext of redoing his laces, giving himself the opportunity to glance around and try to pin down the source of his unease. He was being watched, and this time it was definitely him being watched. Sky wasn't around, so it most likely wasn't more hunters. He stood up again, more than a little frustrated. Like before, he hadn't been able to place the source and that plain pissed him off. If someone was after him, they could at least have the decency to either come at him head on so he could deal with them or, failing that, give him _something_ to work with so he wasn't completely blindsided. He wasn't used to enemies that flat out refused to co-operate. He growled quietly under his breath, then defiantly continued on his way, head held high, posture outwardly relaxed. If someone _was_ after him, he was going to make _them_ come to _him_, not the other way round. He wasn't going to give them, whoever _they_ were, the satisfaction of playing into their hands. A quick glance into the park showed a lone canine figure sitting on one of the benches, surrounded by empty space. He ducked in and made his way over.

* * *

When Jack and the rest of his squad arrived at the quarry where he, Sky and Bridge had got their butts kicked that morning, it was with a great sense of relief to find Cruger already there, engaged in a brutal fight with Gruumm. When he'd delivered the challenge earlier, he had been slightly worried by the Commander's muted reaction. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting, but the resigned sigh wasn't it. Just then though, the call from Z had come in and he didn't have time to spare wondering what was going on inside his commanding officer's head, too busy mentally preparing himself for the upcoming battle.

When everything was over, Gruumm retreating in the face of defeat, Jack relaxed marginally, glad that hopefully this would result in a quiet patch. After a day like this they'd all need to recharge once the adrenaline wore off. It was the first time they'd come face to face with Gruumm, and boy, did they have their work cut out for them.

On the plus side, though, Birdie's shamefaced expression made the day a little brighter.

* * *

Later that evening, Jack wasn't surprised to find Sky on the roof, when he made his own way up there, the blue ranger looking out over the city as the sun sank beneath the horizon, bathing the city in a blood red glow. He walked over to where Sky was standing, joining him at the edge, looking out over the city along with him. The glow from the setting sun was offset by the shadows in the places the sun no longer reached, and they seemed to be growing longer and longer, stretching out across the city like spidery fingers.

"We got our butts kicked today," he said quietly and saw Sky nod out the corner of his eye.

"I know."

Gruumm's visit to Earth, apparently in anticipation of his triumph, had been a wake up call, the Troobian Emperor wiping the floor with them. He'd let them go this morning, let them go so they could deliver his challenge. If he'd chosen to he could have finished them there and then, they'd been vulnerable enough. But he hadn't. The Commander had come through, as he'd expected, and Birdie had marginally redeemed himself by his attempt - pitiful as it was - to take on Gruumm, and his realisation of the errors in judgements he'd made regarding Cruger, B squad and the rest of SPD Earth Station, was another mark in his favour, but the whole incident had still left Jack deeply disturbed, never mind that practically everyone else had written the day off as a victory, an example of what SPD could do when it was united and strong.

Everyone except Sky apparently, given that the blue ranger had beaten him up here, standing on the edge of the roof, drenched in the dark orange light of the sunset. It hadn't been a victory today, not a real one, they'd simply managed to get through the day in one piece, and they'd learned a hard lesson along the way. They weren't ready to fight Gruumm, not even close. And that wasn't even mentioning his unknown watcher and their equally unknown motives and agenda.

"Gruumm's stepping things up," he continued, just as quietly and Sky nodded again, his gaze still focused on the city lying beneath them, trusting SPD to keep it safe.

"I know," he repeated. "We're not ready." Jack felt his heart sink at the echo of his own thoughts, and the faint hope that Sky would disagree with him on this like he did with everything else evaporated.

"Well, then," he said, determinedly. "We just have to work harder. Some things need to change, Sky. We can't carry on the way we have been and hope to win. Not anymore."

Sky looked across at him, expression unreadable as always, before looking back over the city.

"I know."

Jack sighed inwardly. He knew Sky had read between the lines of what he was saying and the blue ranger's response was not encouraging. He shook his head slightly and returned his own attention to the city himself, the shadows now claiming more than half of it, from the city limits, past the observatory and the Delta base, past the business sector and into the industrial sector. Zone after zone fell into the shadows as the sun continued to sink below the horizon until it was gone completely, leaving the city in darkness, with two lone rangers standing watch on the roof of their base.

END


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